Michael,

While I agree on certain points of your piece - it's purely coincidental that Ponting made a hundred in the first innings.

For me Sehwags comment and Ponting's initial retort just showed that Ponting is the biggest hypocrite in cricket. To Sehwags point on claiming bump catches ( for which video evidences are there in plenty) during the Sydney tests by the Aussies , he not only refuted that argument but said India did the same in Perth! Beats me which game Ponting was referring to but it certainly wasn't Perth 2007 for sure.

All and Sundry and beyond know very well that Australia were the biggest beneficiaries in Sydney. India did get a couple of benefits their way in Perth no doubt, but isn't that what the Aussies so famoursly claim to the be the rub of the green???

My grouse against Ponting is that he said India benefitted from bump catches in Perth and Aussies didn't in Sydney. What a blatant lie!

I remember this guy Robin Uthappa taking great pleasure in explaining how he "sledged" Hayden during the CB series. If that isn't lame enough, you should have heard the alleged "sledge" in that encounter. When your mind games are directed more to the media and fans in a grandiose attempt at self glorification, whether you think you're showing how witty you are or how you can "give it back", it is more likely you've spent your time thinking about how you will look in front of the camera than doing homework on the opposition.
Another incident that comes to mind is Ganguly bragging to the press on how he deliberately kept Waugh waiting at the toss. The difference is one team uses the media to get the opposition's attention while the other team uses the opposition to get some media attention. Indian cricketers never did this in the past, but they seem to think its good fun now. Dhoni actually made a statement to the effect that the Indians have to learn how to do this from the Australians!

You totally missed the point. Ponting was pestering to have the "Catches" pact in spite of Kumble not willing to fall for yet another Sydney incident. So Sewag answered to the question with the truth: Aussies CHEAT to win matches. All ends there. No team plan, etc. BTW, what do you think of Aussies cheating and how about writing one post about that!!!

uninformed article. Please do your homework. Sehwag made those comments just after the Sydney test. A newspaper happened to invite attention by reporting it before the current series

That's BS. You dont need any extra motivation when you play a fierce rival such as India. Ponting had plenty to prove - he scored 11 runs in an entire series and is a proven failure on Indian tracks, especially against nemesis Harbhajan. This nonsese is retroactive rhetoric. Michael, stop doing what Aussies journalists do !!

The rest is not history at all, it's to follow! If you want any certificate on Ponting's performance as a captain after his so called "self motivated batting performance" go ask Bhajji and Zak after today's innings. All of that pretty quickly disappeared into quite submission which only a loser can match. He looked so helpless in the absence of influential finger for the umpires ! He didn't even have luxury for claiming "clean catches" that he and his teammates 'honestly' take. Aussie bowlers are only spared so long as Fab four take them lightly. I am quite hopeful next three test matches will prove my point further. He has always been a great batsman and better matchwinner than Tendulkar of course. So that way his performance was expected on this flat pitch.

Michael,it seems to me that you belong to dat particular class of ppl,like Tony Greig and Mark Nicholas, who seem to think dat the Aussie way is THE way to play cricket & that all aussie cricketers are no less than Gods! There are several factual mistakes in ur article...1)Sehwag's remark was a generic remark about Aussies trying to claim catches which were clearly grounded,in the sydney test.Nowhere did he mention Ponting's name in particular.So,why wud ponting assume it's specially directed at him,only u seem to kno!(BTW,I'm sure even Ponting knows that that appeal for catch that he made against Dhoni in Sydney,was a blatantly grounded attempt.Anyone who says otherwise needs to get his eyes checked!)
2)You claim that Lara,Tendulkar and Dravid were never sledged by Aussies?Dude,u cant be serious!!??McGrath,Steve waugh,Slater et al have sledged em so many times on live tv dude..Every1's seen that!Your knowledge of comtemporary cricket seems extremely poor.
who lets u write here dude?

Very interesting article. Good job.

I dont agree with this. Sehwag made comments on Auusies crooked ways to win the game. Sehwag never questioned ponting's ability as batsmen. All he said was they have chosen a wrong way to win the sydney test which should not be a character of world champions. Ponting has worries about his form and average in India and I believe he has come well prepared to face Indian attack, especially Ishant and Harbhajan. If there is anybody who proved Sehwag made a wrong statement it was Haddin who straight away accepted that an edge from Sehwag did not carry till his gloves.

This is by far the most absurd article I've seen from you, Michael. It is fairly well known that questioning a person's courage brings out the hidden beast within them. There is absolutely nothing 'Australian' about that - its a fairly basic human or might I say, a biological trait. The 'flight or fight' way in which a body works is analogical to this.

While you may be right that Sehwag's comment might have egged Ponting on to do better, I see no reason why Ponting might not have done well without Sehwag commenting about the Sydney test. In fact, I dont even see a relation - I dont think Sehwag mentioned Ponting's batting when he spoke about what the Aussies did in Australia.

I for one am quite pissed with all the crap that goes around under the name of 'mind games'. The vile nonsense that Ponting mouthed at the press conference was absolutely uncalled for. The comments about Ganguly's retirement putting pressure on the Indians and their style of play was none of his business.

Mr Jeh, your point is well taken and articulately elaborated, but am I to understand that no one in the world should ever try to pull Australia's tail before a series? Let me remind you that the Australians are past masters at mouthing off before a series, indeed, in their mouths, it has become an art form. So Australia can say what they want about whom they want whenever they want but Sehwag and South Africa and England and Pakistan cannot? For fear of a backlash? My dear Sir, if anyone 'fears' a backlash or 'fears' losing they should not play cricket at all. No one can live in fear and expect mercy and kindness from their opponents, especially ones as abrasive and belligerent and ill-mannered as the Aussies. Play the game like a man, let women keep their mouths shut for fear of a thrashing. FYI, I also used to instigate confrontations with opponents to get my focus right. The Australians didn't invent that part of the game.

To say that Sehwag's comment spurred Ponting is hilarious.Too much is made of Ponting's failure without proper analysis.He has had only one test match(2004-05)after he started making tons of runs(after 2002).The fact that he came in early and not against spinners helped. Finally,it was no attempt at psychological warfare,but genuine anguish at having been robbed of a test match by the most unsporting sports team in history.If Ricky needs reminding of the catch which he grounded and claimed,he can have a look at cricinfo's pages which carried a clear photo of his "catch" a few days ago.Also,Australia clearly gets a lot of umpiring decisions in its favour,not to mention the countless let-offs for unruly behaviour.It is a joke that McGrath and Slater(and numerous other incidents which I can't recall)went scot-free after their rant against Sarwan and Dravid respectively.All this happens because of being the best team in the World-this can be seen in football when refs favour the better tea

There is nothing wrong with what Sehwag has said & timing does not matter to talk the truth.Its true that Ponting was desperate to win the Sydney Test at all costs & claimed catches that were clearly disputable to say the least.Sehwag is an individual who speaks whats in his mind & it cant be termed as a team plan.Anyway,the whole cricketing world knows which team plays the 'Mind Games' & uses 'Mental Disintegration' as a part of its tactics to win matches by hook or crook.
There is no doubt that Ricky Ponting is a proven player all over the world & therefore, was bound to do well in India sometime or the other although his time has come after struggling through 8 harrowing Tests...Tail pull or no pull!

Did you consider maybe, that it wasn't a psychological attack, as everything in the australian book seems to be? Maybe it was just the truth, atleast in his opinion, and he was expressing it??

Hello
I don't think you have understood Viru. He comes from a simple background. He calls spade a spade, people often mistake it for lack of sophistication on his part. I really feel if Viru has spoken his mind out on something then it is true. Maybe Ricky took offence to it but Viru never meant to hurt anyone

Well said, with one exception from my perspective. Michael Jeh jumps to an improbable conclusion when he says: "Perhaps Sehwag was merely executing an Indian team plan. Perhaps he was the nominated bait to flush the tiger into the open..." Positively not. Stalwarts like Kumble, Dravid, and Tendulkar have class, and would definitely not fall for such a cheap trip regardless of the objective, nor would they play mindless mind games as we so often see the Australian Players indulging in. Haddin's sledging of Zaheer Khan is a minor case in point. I would say that Sehwag, just like his batting style, is impetuous in whatever he says, and the best thing is to ignore what he says and admire his entertaining play when he hits form.

You should never provoke a good player. Ever. You never see them motuhing off to Tendulkar much do you?

Garry Sobers often attributed his 254 against Australia for the Rest of the World as being borne out of his annoyance at being consistently harrassed by Dennis Lillee and he responded with the innings of a lifetime.

I think too much is being made of Sehwag's comments. Cause and effect cannot be attributed to every happenstance. How about accepting that Ponting scored a century because he is a good batsman? If he requires to be 'insulted' to produce a big innings, Australia would do well to hire a professional cusser and questioner of character to accompany their team on all tours.

I was afraid the India-Australia series would lead to a spate of knee jerk journalism articles being published. I was right.

Seriously, why is it so difficult to see where the we, Aussies go wrong? It's even worse when someone writes in their defense. Wrong is wrong - no matter how and who looks at it.

Peter, Sydney

I agree with Arun - Aussie journalists as well as the commentators are all in the same boat as their players - thinking that they are the best and no one can match them. They use all kinds of unethical tactics and would do whatever they can to win AT ALL costs - playing tough is one thing but playing with a wrong spirit is completely another. There have been some very good cricketers from down under who are well liked all over the world (Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist to name a few) but overall they are one of the most disliked teams in the world. I wouldn't even mind losing to say Pakistan (I am Indian by the way) but I pray that we do not lose to Australia - they are a bunch of bad losers and should be trashed and humiliated. I say we prepare rank turners and beat them inside 3 days in every match - that is exactly what they deserve. Aussies do not deserve fair play or sporting pitches. Stop your tiger and tails stories Michael - you can't fool anyone here - cheers mate!!

I find it hysterical, the continued insistence on being"robbed"at Sydney. However i can empathise with the incredible frustration and disappointment that must have come from losing three quick wickets to a part time slow bowler(Clarke), while in sight of the finish line. So lets just blame it on the umpires and one contentious catch.

Duncan, Sydney

Sehwag was not trying to motivate or play mind games. He was stating an opinion that most Indians and many Aussies would concur with. And is it not too early to start saying 'The rest is history'?

Ponting is a key reason why it is difficult to enjoy matches between India and Australia (and why India vs Pakistan remains THE battle to watch in Cricket). Look at Brett Lee, he is a brilliant cricketer but doesn't have to resort to stupid comments about everything to be respected. Ponting can break all records in the books but will never be as respected as folks who have made 1/20th the runs he has made.

Anyway, I guess that as long as you are so focused on winning that nothing else matters, you will not understand why Fab Four are revered. Try not to change a beautiful game into a dog fight by writing these kind of stupid articles.

Hi everyone. Thanks for your comments. I wasn't commenting on whether the comments were justified or not or whether the Aussies have any right to feel aggrieved or not. The only point I was trying to make is that (generally) this tactic rarely works against Ponting and most Aussie batsmen. You're probably better off giving them false praise and false confidence in the hope that they might not concentrate as hard. All I'm saying is that the Aussie club cricket system thrives on this sort of "I'll show them" attitude and I don't think it was particularly clever (by Sehwag or the media) to bring it up at this point. I'm not going to debate the events of the Sydney Test but I just think that if it was intended to put Ponting off his game, it was never going to succeed. And I think you'll find that recently, Australia have shied away from baiting guys like Lara, Tendulkar etc. It may be a 'respect' thing or it may be purely pragmatic. Never give great players extra motivation!

I dont agree with this. Sehwag never mentioned it was Pointing who cheated. All he said was we dont want the catching pact as that cost us the sydney game and everyone who watched the game knows it contributed atleast 30-40% for the end result.Ponitng is an all time great and he would have wanted to correct his record in India even without Sehwag's comments. All said and done , as Sunny , Aussies ll never be popular champions unless and otherwise they change the mental approach towards the game. And wat bump balls is Ponting referring to in the Perth game. I dont remember a single dismissal which was a bump ball in the game. Symonds n Hussey may have had reasons in the second innings to be given out but so too were Sachin and Dhoni in the first innings. There were no bump balls nor did the Indians claim any.

Michael, after reading other comments on this page, I am convinced that I am not the only one who thought this article was utter nonsense.

I would like to report this article to Cricinfo as mindless propoganda reporting. We've been seeing too much of such nonsense on TV and on websites these days. I am quite fed up with all this and it wastes our time when new writers like you come up and write a couple good articles which gets readers hooked and then resort to what your usual day job, I presume - writing these kind of useless/pointless and absolultely incorrect articles. This really HAS to stop somewhere.

Please tell me an email address where I can complain to get your article and you off the cricifo pages.

Cheers,
-Ganesh

Michael, you seem to be carried away by the filmy style of revenge. Sehvag's words prompting Ponting to reverse his history of not scoring good in India. Even if that's so, how can he be so proud of being a great batsman to the extant that had Sehvag not said anything like that, would he have continued his celebrated poor run in Indian soil. Lacks logic, Boss! What happened to his envigorated self esteem when Zaheer and Harbhajan posted a fightback... Zaheer even had a mouthful to Brad Haddin. Why was the entire Australian team without an answer to Zaheer's batting? Please, don't float your theories on sheer coincidence.

"Border himself often used that weapon on himself. He often tells of instances when he would deliberately provoke a confrontation in order to get embroiled in a battle that helped him raise his game"

Shameful...deserves a place in the wild then on the ground.

Hilarious, thats what I like about Jeh's articles. Look out rest of the world, you've just learned about another Aussie trait, deeply ingrained in their culture (and of course, you'd only be learning to do it their way if you do exactly the same thing, nevermind it was done centuries before they landed in Australia) Its these quips about Aussie culture that has everyone else laughing their behinds off, its kind of like "mateship", which you'll hear them claim is uniquely Australian. As everyone knows, the only thing unique about it is i) the aussies *call* it mateship and ii) they think they're the only ones who do it. Maybe its some form of patriotism that makes them claim something common is deeply Australian, but whatever, history is full of examples of cricketers from every country playing such innings to prove themselves. But while we're having a laugh about things Aussies claim are uniquely "australian", here's another funnier blog http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/15585

Almost every Australian commentator at Channel 9 was aghast with the way the umpiring went about during the Sydney Test in Jan 2008. Ponting was right in not claiming a catch (of Dravid's) in the first innings of that Test March but he still has not answered about the one bounce catch that Michael Clarke claimed (to get Ganguly out) in the second innings. This Australian team clearly cheats to win Test Matches. Worse still, the umpires also favour them all the time. Particularly Rudi Kurtzon. I hope India beats them 3-0 in this test series.

Ajax, Do you also remember an Australian captain coining the term "mental disintegration" or like Ricky Ponting, you also have selective amnesia...

I find it mildly amusing that in any blog, of any nature, when any Indian is accused of doing anything slightly negative or any Australian is praised that every Indian jumps into outrage. It is like every citizen of India has a chip on its shoulder. It's about time to just accept that your team is just considerably worse than Australia and do not even come close. Just look at the ICC test rankings - no team has even got close to Australia for the past decade plus. To continually refer to the Sydney test as a blight against Australia is ridiculous. Overappealing (think India in India). Bad umpiring decisions that change tests series (Final wicket for Panesar lbw in first test in England). Unsporting captains (think childish Kumble in the Sydney test trying to draw comparisons with bodyline instead of praising a great Aussie victory). Yet, we never hear Indians rant on about any of those things. Accept the Aussies are far superior and move on.

Goodness me, and they say Aussies are racist. The racism towards Australian's in the comments section are quite unbelievable. From attacking the integrity of the Australian cricket team, to poking fun at their culture of mateship. Lets stick to the cricket.

I think everyone has missed the point the writer has tried to make. He is saying that provoking Australian's in general only serves to make them more determined. Simple as that. It's just part of their make up. Is that such a hard thing to understand?

As for the cricket, well the Aussies have been the domiant team for well over a decade now. At times there have been challengers (England & India) but they are without doubt consistently head and shoulders above everyone else. Any other team that has undergone the changes they have in the past few years would have quickly slipped down the rankings, but not the Aussies...it must be their strong culture and playing for each other as mates that comes through!!!

Excuse me but i think the person wrote this must definitely be australian, bcoz he should first know that the remark by sehwag was provoked by ponting,who before the series said that he was unhappy at the indian captain not the accepting the catching pact, this time around, and cried out for the spirit of cricket.I Think Australians are the most arrogant ill behaved cricketers in all over the world.

Ben mate I think you just proved all the indians who commented above right. The recurring concept in all their comments was we Aussies blatantly REFUSE to beleive our cricket team is anything less than perfect, the slightest acuusation of wrong-doing is met with extended response's like Michaels. Of all the sporting teams in Australia, the cricket team are the worse. Their arrogance is of Everest-proportions and they feel every appeal is correct when a huge number of times their is not even the slightest justification for the appeal. Another thing these comments have in common is the suggestion every time Aussies are called out for wrong-doings they have to bring up other incidences. Again, you played into Indian hands by citing past incidences. If you were to put together on-field controversies of the top 8 cricket teams in a calendar year on one side of a scale and put the aussie-induced controversies on the other side, i beleive the aussie side would be much heavier.

There's no doubt that Australia has been the premier side over the past few years . But to attribute that only to toughness is a bit much . How can one ignore the fact that the system has managed to churn out a series of talented ( not tough average ) performers ? We will see what this toughness is going to do for them now that the endless supply of good players seems to be coming to a natural and cyclical end .

Sport in general and cricket in particular is a test of character -- win or loose play the game, not the man.

Wow, I find it mildly amusing and a little shocking that my comments are misconstrued as racist. Amusing because its just funny that nowadays its Australians that play the race card. Maybe its become fashionable to portray anything an Indian says as racist? But lets get rid of that little myth.
Racism, by its simplest definition, is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Much as Pauline Hanson might dislike it, I believe Australia isn't made up of only ONE race, so making fun of this culture would not constitute racism. If poking fun at the way Australians claim something universal is distinctly Aussie is termed racist, one dreads to think what the White Australia Policy (used upto 1967, wow thats just 41 years ago!) should be termed?
I think my point was that cricketers all over the world have used these tactics for motivation, and this isn't distinctly Australian.

@Ben- U find it amusing, hmm, very funny you didnt seem to realize that this article was written not when an "Indian" was accused but was written when an "Aussie" was accused of "catching". Nobody is arguing that the Aussies are the best team in cricket. But they are also best at sledging, cheating, pressurising the umpires, and all sorts of indecent behaviours on the field and off it. If it has slipped your short memory let me remind you of the Muralitharan racism issue, and the Hayden- Harbhajan "obnoxious weed" issue. Dont let me get started with the other Aussie players. So better think a little of the past and then write.
@Pete- Dear fellow, to understand what racism in India means first you need to know something about the Indian caste system. A normal lookin Indian is also darker in shade compared to any of the tribes in Australia so Indians cant be racist whatever u try and say. What is racism in your country is castism in ours so please read up and den call us Indians racist.

Micheal, You could also write about how Australians walk on two feet and breathe oxygen and how that is in their national character. It is such a common trait among human beings. I remember when India toured Australia last year, Gavin Robertson wrote a similar article about goading Australia at your own peril. Is there some kind of reverse psychology working here?! It would appear as if Australians are worried about Indian verbals.

Ricky Ponting is one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era. He is also one of the most successful captains in test cricket history. It is possible to think you have taken a catch in cricket and actually been wrong. I know as it has happened to me. On other occasions Ponting has said he has not taken a catch when it looked like he did. I believe he should be given the benefit of the doubt and judged on more than a single split second once of instance in an exceptional career. Ricky Ponting is not a cheat, he is a fierce competitor and a richly successful one. People who lose in close contests will always see things differently to those who win. Regardless, get over it. One team won and the other lost. Go back and try again. One day you will be the best team and everyone will want to beat you.

There is absolutely no logic in relating those two.

How could this article even be posted on cricinfo! The author's rant about superman like retaliation powers of Aussies is very childish. Kid talk. "Hey, don't poke batman, he is very dangerous."

I have compiled general issues people have with Aussies. I wonder if some sensible Aussie can answer them, may be the author himself.

1) Nobody has issues with Ponting not walking when out. Who walks anyways. The issue is with Ricky Ponting not walking, claiming clearly dropped catches of Dhoni and controversial catches of Ganguly and then trying to take a moral high ground by talking about taking fielder's word.

2) In civilized societies, a person is not guilty till he is proven guilty. There are way too many examples in cricket to suggest it works differently in Australia. Darrel Hair accusing Pak of ball tampering, crowds still abusing Murali for chucking, Crowds, media and players accusing Harbhajan.

3) They sledge. Whether you call it gamesmanship or mental disintegration, its just not cricket. How is abusing other player a part of game in Australia.

continued -

continued from last post -

4) They can't cop it back. Mcgrath getting mad about Sarwan's retort comes first to the mind. They ran to the teacher complaining about Harbhajan. Crowds chant "You are a wanker" to Harbhajan but they claim he was disgraceful because he spat towards them.

5) Racism - Dean Jones calling Amla "terrorist", Lehman calling Srilankans "black ****s". Other players like Chris Gayle and prominent cricinfo writers Dileep Premchandran and Sambit Bal have also talked about their experiences with racism in Australia.

6) Mateship - What exactly does it mean. They keep talking about it all the time as if players from other teams are generally trying to get their partners runout. Does Symonds abusing Harbhajan bcoz he complimented Brett Lee qualify. Or is it Michael Clarke being a witness in Harbhajan's case without hearing anything.

Looking forward to getting to know Aussies more...

Cheers,
Abhijeet

Micheal:

You've got it completely wrong if you think Sehwag tried it as a tactic. The only ill-timed comment came from Ponting when he asked for the catches pact to be reinstated. Duh!
If I were a captain who proposed such a pact, and then got caught on tv claiming a catch which was clearly grounded - and had gotten flak for it- I'd NEVER EVER bring the topic up again. That Ponting did, show that either i)he's in denial that he cheated or ii)he's a fool.
And then he wonders why no other captain will agree to such a pact with him.
I was waiting to see who would tell the man he really shouldn't bring such topics up. Straight-talking Sehwag did, and Ponting's rebuttal was as illogical as his initial comments. He just never gets it!

Ponting didn't raise gis game in response to Sehwag or anyone else. He set himself to bat to his regular standards because he was a young batsman who disappointed the last time he really toured India (the previous tour he was mostly injured).
The catches pact would be agood one if everyone agreed to it and played by it - even if some mistakes were made. However, while it is clear players like Dravid and Tendulkar play it straight, no one would really trust Harbajhan with an Australian wicket, so I don't really see what was the point of the offer.
I would have like the referral system tested though. This would have been a really good series to use it on as it could defuse the potential problems the last series had.

Indeed the most disappointing thing is that so few Australians seem willing to accept that the team that represents their country has a disproportionately high number of idiots in it. The type of people who don't walk and say 'let the umpire do his job' but then insist that they took a catch cleanly and get offended when anyone suggests that an umpire rather than a fieldsman judge the fairness or otherwise of a catch.

Ponting has embarrassed Australia a good deal more than Shane Warne was ever in danger of doing. At least Warne seems to acknowledge in hindsight that he made mistakes.

I make a point of always clarifying what I mean when I say I'm an Australian cricket fan; I am most definitely not a fan of (significant elements of) the Australian team. I'm a cricket fan who happens to be Australian. Several members of that team (largely Ponting and Hayden) end up being a source of embarrassment to me talking to other cricket fans in the UK. I really do wish Flintoff had won 5-0.

I am not Aussie or Indian. None of these teams can make a moral claim. The Aussies are quite brash and poorly behaved but so are the Indians. Australia is simply better than India at these antics just the way they are a better cricket team. For every accusation to an Aussie, please remember you have the silly imp Harbajhan. And what is clear is that Ponting has corrected the one thing in his career that let him down, his record in India.If this is down to a taunt or just the man's will to make runs, only Punter will know. Lets focus on the cricket and stop making patriotic statements

As the risk of repeating my predecessors, this is an uninformed post. Michael - You should really consider how you are trying to get your point across. Your defence of "The only point I was trying to make is that (generally) this tactic rarely works against Ponting and most Aussie batsmen" is a weak one, especially when the route to make the point is to have a post with a title that blares without any ambiguity "Ponting answers Sehwag".

The only word to describe the post is pathetic. Try slipping such a story past your barmates after the sixth round of beer, and even they would see through the illogical inferences you are trying to draw. Let alone the knowledgable folks who eyeball cricinfo blogs.

And if this was an elaborate way of sharing your personal AB ancedote, well then the "point" is noted.

This took a turn.

Guys, I tihnk the majority of you are taking this personally in some way or another and I don't know why. I've read the article and I don't see what makes it so inflammatory to you.

Ganesh, complain to Cricinfo about one blog? As you said previously, Michael had released several excellent blogs previously and now you are ready to lodge a formal complaint over one blog you deem not up to standards?

I'm amazed at how people can lose their heads over one piece of writing that is the author's OPINION. If you disagree with it, that's fine, but try not to vent your frustrations in such a disgusting and personal way.

Keep them coming Fox

Pete seems to be the only one who has understood what the article was about. Most of the other comments are irrelevant and are borne from emotion, especially those remarking on "cheating". It all reminds me of the saying "It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt".

India there are a lot of fair minded Aussies that are not worried about Ponting being called a cheat and some of us know that the match in Sydney was not really that sporting. The truth is in the 2nd innings the Indians had us at 5 wickets down and were doing well and then about an hour before the end of play you lost the plot. It had nothing to do with yanking any ones tail because up until then it could have been anyone's game because it was see sawing backwards and forwards.

See here's the thing: mental toughness is not an Aussie birthright. International sportsmen in all sports from all countries have to be tough. Michael says it's tough to make it to the top in Australia and hence all international Aussie cricketers are mentally tough. Going by that logic, Indian international cricketers have to be the toughest of the lot becaust it is by far the hardest to make it in India.

Australia has been dominating the scene since 1999 because they had great players. I've never believed they were mentally tougher than any of their contemporaries, and I doubt anybody outside Australia actually believes that.

They continue to be good not because they're mentally tough, but because their first-class cricket structure and their coaching methods are second to none. If it was the toughness, I wonder what happened to their toughness before 1995.

It's true that Australia is better than the rest - but to suggest they're also mentally the toughest is just crap.

Rubbish. If the intent of Cricinfo is to get "hits" by publishing such provocative articles, they have succeeded. The fact is, the Aussies used to be known (before Waugh and Ponting) as playing hard but fair. The latter part has vanished as they cheat blatantly. This is an unfortunate truth- everyone has seen Ponting, Waugh claim bump catches. Ponting's refusal to go off when legitimately caught by Kumble was nothing short of hypocrisy. It's very interesting that no-one can remember the last series in which the umpiring was against the Aussies-all of the series where they should have lost i.e. against NZ, India, and even the test match against lowly Bangladesh-the umpiring was blatantly pro-Australian. Anyone who doesn't believe it just needs to watch the matches again. Michael's cooments are so stupid it's difficult to see what he studied in Oxford, unless he got a degree in India-baiting. The Aussies are the most loud-mouthed, hypocritical, lying, poor losers in the cricket world.

Ponting was due a big score in India and was probably going to get one anyway but Sehwag was ill advised to give him more ammunition. Ponting is statistically a better batsmen than any of the Indians so it was only a matter of time before he conquered his last frontier.

Sehway is entitled to his opinion and I respect his right to say it. I agree with Michael that trying to goad a player who was won three world cups (and captained two of the wins), being part of the best side in the world since he was 19, won numerous series both home and away including as captain and has every noteable trophy in his cabinet expect the 20/20 world cup, has the second best batting average of all current players who have played more than 20 Tests etc is an excuse in futility and can backfire. Perhaps Sehwag should spend more time trying to motivate his team rather than the opposition. You can argue about the all the subjective stuff but only the score book really counts.

Some of the Indian posters here seriously need to step back and try for a little objectivity. Yes some Australian cricketers have bad tempers, I used to be disgusted at the way that Stewart McGill used to behave. However this sort of behaviour is common to almost every team in world cricket. Harbhajan is a childish prat, Andre Nel is known to cross the line, then there was Stephen Fleming's targetting of oposition cricketers which was very intense etc etc. The attacks here on Ricky Ponting are incredible. The language he used was exceptionally mild, merely expressing disappointment WHEN ASKED for his opinion. It sounds like that innings of his in the 2003 World Cup final hasn't been forgotten...

The article makes a good point, which is basically do not give the Australian team more motivation than they already have. The fact that this point is totally lost on the indian respondents is not surprising.
Responses such as 'Viru never meant to hurt anyone' etc highlight the ridiculous attitude of so many indian fans ... Sehwag called the Australian team cheats, how can such comments be anything other than offensive?!
indian fans and media need to work out what their boundaries are and be consistent ... it is ridiculous to continually attack Australians for every action they take, but then turn a blind eye when indians behave in the same or worse manner. Where are the hypocrites who condemned Michael Clarke for standing his ground after an obvious catch last summer? Tendulkar and Sehwag both stood their ground a LONG time after clear cut catches on saturday so where is the outrage and hysteria now? Just massive, massive hypocrisy.

TK, can we try to deal with facts here please? The 'opinions' of someone with a clear agenda are not really helpful, especially when they are so blatantly incorrect.
'If you were to put together on-field controversies of the top 8 cricket teams in a calendar year on one side of a scale and put the aussie-induced controversies on the other side, i beleive the aussie side would be much heavier.' ... that may be what you 'beleive' TK, but your 'beleif' is wrong. India have by far the worst disciplinary record in world cricket in terms of being reported by umpires and match officials, which doesn't suit what you want to believe, but as I said, let's try to deal in reality.
And now the Indian supporters will respond that their record is only because of racist umpires (isn't everything?), at which point I will rest my case.

Sehwag, despite whatever reason he had in doing so, did roll the dice in his comments just before the series kicked-off.He said it in his own capacity, not as the captain of India or any other type of spokesman.It was just playing the game.At least in the immediate aftermath, it didn't pay off because Ponting made a century. But I find it amusing to see everyone pissing and moaning about what they see as unfair decisions. There has rarely been a major sporting event where unfair decisions didn't play some sort of role. The difference between an excellent team and a champion team is they come back and win despite those decisions instead of just crying T_T.Eg, Aus lost an Ashes test in England, with only a few runs required to win, because Kasprowicz was given out when the ball hit his glove when it wasn't in any way touching the bat. The decision was wrong, cost Aus the match and completely changed the series, which Aus lost.Aus didn't cry.They just returned to win 5-0 next time round!

The issue with the this article is that, it is written without knowing the history of the whole spur. Ponting said in the press conference that he still wants the rule of 'Taking fielders' word' for catching.And Sehwag was been asked the question why india dint accept it. So the answer Sehwag gave was simple and to the point.

I then to think that Sehwag hit a sensitive part in Pointing wining was more important to Pointing but when he realize the that it made him and his team look like cheats, he had no choice but stick to his guns. The real loser was test cricket.
Revi

Crowds calling Murali a chucker is shameful and embarassing. I love watching him bowl - best spinner in the world since Warne's retirement. But Australia is not short of idiots. I have no sympathy for Harbajhan - he brings everything upon himself - then again I don't think he's too worried about crowds, media or players attacking him. Like Ponting, it only makes him play better.
3. Everybody sledges. Australia may or may not be the best/worst (depends on your pov) at this. If we want it to stop its up to the ICC. Whilst players are allowed to insult their rivals on the field it is going to happen.
4. See above re Ponting. Let me assure you, no one in Australia likes a hypocrite. I would much prefer it if Australian's stopped complaining about other teams behavior.
5. Every society has problems with racism. The examples you cite are unacceptable and were condemned by many Australians.

Continued ...

Finally 3 sensible comments towards the end, no doubt from no indian sources looking at the facts objectivly. As an Indian outside of India for 10 years I am embarrassed by the comments above, hypocrisy, racism and conspiracy seems to be the only way we can explain just getting beaten by a better team. Indian cricket fans need to wake up and start looking at the facts instead of the emotion!

6. Mateship is of course the same as friendship anywhere. But in Australian history it has been seen as a distinctive Australian quality, much like Americans idea of themselves as the most moral people in the world. It is important in Australia not because it is uniquely Australian but because it is seen to be so and that tells you something about Australians. Although it can often be a shield for racism, sexism and intolerance, mateship generally celebrates noble qualities that we can all applaud - supporting your friends, putting friendship before self-interest etc etc Symonds has used it as justification for his behaviour - and no doubt he thought he had to defend his friend. As with your other examples he is an individual who has behaved badly in a particular incident. It doesn't make him a bad person or Australians bad people.
Hope this helps.

Six wonderful jokes by Abhijeet Dongre and here are some replies

1. Pot. Kettle. Black.
2. Pot. Kettle. Black.
3. Pot. Kettle. Black.
4. Harbhajan is a wanker.
5. Pot. Kettle. Black.
6. It means having a friend.

One has to analyze the whole sequence of actions. It was Ponting who said that he was disappointed that the pact for catches was not being agreed to. Its the same proverb for Kumble "once bitten twice shy". Sehwag just commented on that the Australia did claim half volley as catches. He was stating the fact and in response to Ponting's claim. Now Ponting took is as insult. If Ponting had little common sense then he would not have brought this pact in the picture. Bud bring he did because he wanted 2 divert the attention. His century has nothing 2 do with this comment as he is too good a player to miss an important innings in India. Even if he does not score in India he will not become a lesser batsman. Ponting has reached that level where statistics do not matter as a batsman. It is his behaviour (other than batsmanship) that matters.

CK let me refresh your memory.
1. Under arm throw Aus response NZ must get over it.
2. Ashes these Poms are so arrogant that they have already started celebrations and they haven't even won it yet.
3. Commentator (Andre Nel)this man must show a little bit of respect for the best batsman (Adam Gilchrist)At the time they were both mouthing of to each other so why must only the SA show some respect.
4.Glen McGrath's wife was insulted (even though the person that made the remark had no idea of that Mrs McGrath was ill) not a word was said that Glen insulted him by asking him what one of the other players d*&cks taste like.
5.Ricky Ponting mouths it to umpires almost every game and that makes it alright but let anyone else try that and they become whingers and are not playing in the spirit of the game.
6.Australia sledge all the time and the other teams must put up with it but it is not acceptable for the other teams to sledge them.

I think the whole point has been lost here. The author was commenting on a peculiarly Australian sporting culture that exists here. Nearly every grown man in the country plays some sort of organised sport, with every park and oval crowded with football players in the winter and cricket players in the summer. And we have a LOT of ovals in every suburb and town across this huge country. The point that the author was making is that to make it to the Zenith of Australian cricket (as captain of the national side) you have to come through a tough school. Every game of park cricket is played with the same intensity and competitiveness as test cricket. The same sledging, the same aggression. Sport is never a relaxed affair in Australia, win or lose. I can think of no other country that has this extremely high level of sporting participation. So there is a certain culture that our test players come from that can rub other teams up the wrong way. But it is also why we are world champions.

sehwag's comments are independant of Ponting's century - it is almost the author belittles Ponting's ability to score centuries - Ponting will do it anyway, since his record in India has been abysmal - sehwag did not much to add to Pinting's resolve

Now coming back to sehwag's comment,the sydney test was filled with unsportsmanlike favors handed to Aussies by the umpire Steve Bucknor, who like Allen Stanford is a India Lover - additionally, Ponting and Australians exploited the catching agreement to their advantage - it is a shame - symonds even gets IPL contracts after his foul mouthed behavior - If I were BCCI chief, I'd exclude Symonds, Ponting and Clarke from the IPL largesse

im a fan of your blogs and i enjoyed reading this while listening to the test on the radio.
we all know know that ponting would have sehwags comments as motivation to concentrate and focus his energy during the hard parts of his long innings. whether it was sehwags intention or not, it was said and i believe ponting grabbed it and used it as something personal and to put some steel in his belly and not to loose his wicket.

with the whole thing about catching and umpire referal, i believe it has to happen. i would like to live in a world where everyone everyone trusts everyone and the umpires decision is final, but it doesnt work with these high pressure matches its just common sense to bring in the referal system. if it was used in sydney i wouldnt be driven bored with still hearing bout it, what happened happened (tho it might be easy for me to say as my team won)

anyways keep these blogs coming, i dont want just news to read, i want opinions that make me think, thankyou

Wow. Doesn't take much for the Indian correspondents to get hot under the collar. The writer here is saying that, generally, Australians get stirred up to perform better when goaded. This is true. It may well be true in a lot of other nations too but the writer never said it wasn't. That's all he said. He never said anybody did or didn't cheat. He never said anyone was better than anyone else. Poor man is writing an interesting article and putting it up for discussion and gets this crap as feedback? Racism, cheating, Darryl Hair, Murali being a chucker. What the hell is all that about?? For what it's worth Michael, I think the article is fine. I agree with it. Even in the grade of cricket I played we knew who to 'chirp' and who to leave alone. I remember going to England and playing some league cricket. I got stuck into an opposition batsman with what would be a mild statement at home. There it stopped the game. The gentleman's game is a rare thing in Australia, it is very competitive.

If Aussies were so tough mentally then please explain the reason of downfall of Aussies in general & Simmo in particular after the spat with Bhajji last summer.
Feel really pity for Simmo!!

Ricky Ponting has answered Sehwag and India as a whole apprppriately. A great player like Ponting should not bother about what a minnow like Sehwag says.

Ganguly should not treated like a
"sacrifical goat".He was a great legend and a sucessful captain.Surely after his retirement,Indian team will betrayed his absence.My point of view Viru is the right choice for next test team captain

I agree that Australian cricket clubs have several strategies to improve mental fitness of a player. That is well appreciated. But, as far as I know thinking of an Indian brain, Shewag was not trying to instigate or provoke a player like Ponting. I think it is a mere misunderstanding from media point of view who have blown the issue out of proportion.

Aussies please see my comment and think for yourself.
1.almost all of the most disgraceful moments in the history of cricket involved the australians and the opponents varied at different point of time.
for eg., the last ball underarm bowling in benson and hedges final, lillee kicking javed miandad, michael slater claiming a bump as a catch and proved wrong thru third umpire referral and was still talking to self and shouting at dravid and umpire venkat like a psychotic, mcgrath spitting on sarwan and talking about his wife etc., plus the other examples quoted in other comments.
2, even in the Pura cup held in australia participated by the australian players fights between hayden and mcgrath etc., shows there is no gamemanship.
3, maybe the aussies play only for winning and not to maintain decor on the field.
4. its only recently teams like India started to give back when the aussies open their mouth
and here you are complaining on each and everything about other teams.

Hi Michael,
This is a good analysis from your end. The Indian think tank needs to make note of this when they plan for the next matches.
In hindsight, if only Sehwag hadnt made these comments, India would have been in a strong position to win this match (think of a 30-40 run lead instead of a 70 run deficit in the first innings and more time!)
What the Indian team also needs to analyse (based on historical data - may be Michael can help here) how long (how many innings) the impact of Sehwag's comments is likely to last on Ponting. Is it only 1 innings or few more innings, based on that they can plan their bowling better for the remaining matches.

In the latest in-flight magazine for British Airways there is an article focussing the roads in India. It tells of a phenomenon where if a driver hits another driver, especially a moto driver or a pedestrian and they die, a crowd will often gather and beat the driver to death. Regardless of whether the driver was at fault. There are a few explanations given for this bizarre behaviour in the article that delve into the India psyche. Obviously Ponting is not a cheat, but maybe India after so many years of being unable to achieve the number one test ranking even with their fab four and other incredible players are at their wits end and need to find a reason for their failure to overcome an opposition that has managed to beat them consistently and comprehensively. Maybe Ponting is the car driver? This would provide some explanation for this bizarre and clearl unjustified attack on Ponting, Australian cricket and Australians in general. I suggest Australians try not to judge Indians here.

Well, if that is what Aussie cricketers do, then so be it, although I thought that the behaviour described here is more apt for boxers.
I am not sure if Sehwag actually pulled the tiger by the tail, I thought he snared the tiger on the face. It is upto the tiger to react the way tiger wants to, not that it would make any difference to the tiger if it was the tail or the face (to a bull, may be).
Anway, it would be very boring to see a "lazy" Ponting on the field.I wonder if Sehwag had not commented on Sydney test, Ponting would have chosen to continue with his existing record in India. Was he waiting for Sehwag to comment?
Everyone saw the test in Sydney including the famous caught appeal by Ponting, of which he was so confident of (and still is I think). Now, as it turned out, Aussies lost the next match, on a wicket that completely suited their style of batting and bowling. Now didn't someone say, "Don't catch the tiger by the tail".

What a connection!!!! Ponting answered Sehwag?? Didnt we all see what happened in Sydney?? Also please remember one innings doesnt make the entire series. 6 more innings to go. On a flat first day pitch while the lead spinner is injured scoring at a pedestrian pace, if that is what is pontings redemption than congratulations to him. It will take more than just this to convince me that he has conquered his errors in batting here.

Sorry Looch mate but you and Pete are probably the main ones who have commented here but haven't understood Leh's rants.
Australia's sporting arrogance is not just something Indian have observed. Do you notice how Federer, Tiger Woods, the All Blacks and the past West Indies are respected by the entire community of that sport. Honestly, is it a coincidence that the Poms, South Africans, Kiwis, Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and West Indians all to some extent regard the Australians as arrogant and cheaters. Can you seriously attribute that to jealousy when it has barely happened in this sport before and in other sports ever?

Holly....Guys my good Indian friends, while you are responding in your usual way, this is exactly what Michael was looking for, he went fishing, you all got caught. He is doing a Waugh, engaging in a conversation that has no basis. And all it is doing is overshadowing that Aussie bowling is pretty poor now.

No need to boil over this, who really knows anyway who Michael is, was, or will be or what he writes.

Let him have his fun. There are other ways to hurt aussies, and India already has on the field. Who cares if Michael is sledging, which he is here.

Hi everyone. It's been interesting to read all the comments, even those that are vitriolic in their criticism. I'm struggling to see how/why this debate morphed into a character assassination of national traits (on both sides) and some of the more personal attacks that it sparked. It sometimes makes me reluctant to comment on anything that has a remotely confrontational theme because it just gets sidetracked. The main point I was trying to make is that if Sehwag did it to put Ponting off his game, it won't work. I made it abundantly clear that I wasn't debating Sydney Test incidents or defending the practice of cheating, arrogance or sledging or anything else that each country is being accused of. This was not meant to be an India vs Aust debate but merely a comment that any country that tries to use this tactic to unsettle Ponting may be better off with another plan. His record in big matches and the first Test of a series proves that he loves the extra pressure. That's all!

Sehwag may have pulled the tigers tail and made Pointing determined to do well in India but it looks like Ponting pulled Sehwag's tigers tail and made him determined to get a draw seen they could not win it. So I am not sure who actually had the last tail pull.

Posted by: Mukul at October 12, 2008 7:42 PM

Micheal:

You've got it completely wrong if you think Sehwag tried it as a tactic. The only ill-timed comment came from Ponting when he asked for the catches pact to be reinstated. Duh!
If I were a captain who proposed such a pact, and then got caught on tv claiming a catch which was clearly grounded - and had gotten flak for it- I'd NEVER EVER bring the topic up again. That Ponting did, show that either i)he's in denial that he cheated or ii)he's a fool.
And then he wonders why no other captain will agree to such a pact with him.
I was waiting to see who would tell the man he really shouldn't bring such topics up. Straight-talking Sehwag did, and Ponting's rebuttal was as illogical as his initial comments. He just never gets it!
well said. BTW I am a Pakistani supporter, I can tell you of another "pact" made by Australia when Pak toured in 99. Don't complain about Umpires or you'll lose your match fee. Result? Hobart, Tasmania.

Posted by: Abhijeet Dongre at October 12, 2008 7:14 PM

"I have compiled general issues people have with Aussies. I wonder if some sensible Aussie can answer them, may be the author himself.

1) Nobody has issues with Ponting not walking when out. Who walks anyways. The issue is with Ricky Ponting not walking, claiming clearly dropped catches of Dhoni and controversial catches of Ganguly and then trying to take a moral high ground by talking about taking fielder's word."

Then trying to take the moral high ground?? He has always said that he thinks the fielders (under the ruling of the umpire on the field) have a better idea about close catches than you can get from the tv replays. He never said it was perfect, so being wrong once or twice doesn't change his mind. People who disagree with him are going to remember these particular occasions, while he's remembering the times when the tv umpire hasn't had a clue, and it should have been left to the onfield umpire.

"3) They sledge. Whether you call it gamesmanship or mental disintegration, its just not cricket. How is abusing other player a part of game in Australia."

As much as it is anywhere else. I played in a team in England with one white English guy and a bunch of guys from Asian families born in England, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Their sledging was as bad as anything I've seen in Australia.

"4) They can't cop it back. Mcgrath getting mad about Sarwan's retort comes first to the mind. They ran to the teacher complaining about Harbhajan. Crowds chant "You are a wanker" to Harbhajan but they claim he was disgraceful because he spat towards them."

The ideas about which topics/behaviours are acceptable and which aren't do seem to be different in different cultures. Aussies sometimes seem a bit touchy about anyone who is sick/dead. Doesn't make sense to me, and I'm Aussie.

Crowds again... what makes you think the people shouting were the same ones that complained about spitting?

"5) Racism - Dean Jones calling Amla "terrorist", Lehman calling Srilankans "black ****s". Other players like Chris Gayle and prominent cricinfo writers Dileep Premchandran and Sambit Bal have also talked about their experiences with racism in Australia."

Again, hardly restricted to Australia. And it's not much better to take a few incidents and use them to label a whole country.

"6) Mateship - What exactly does it mean. They keep talking about it all the time as if players from other teams are generally trying to get their partners runout. Does Symonds abusing Harbhajan bcoz he complimented Brett Lee qualify. Or is it Michael Clarke being a witness in Harbhajan's case without hearing anything."

Australians like to talk about mateship. The way it's talked and thought about is unique. There's some sort of mythological nonsense in it that makes people feel good, but I've never heard it used to attack anyone else - what's the issue? It wasn't an Australian who mentioned it here.

And now Zaheer has needled Ponting! Ooh, the Indian dressing room must be really scared - Ricky is sure to score a double hundred!

Aside: Michael, if your point was just to say, "don't needle a great batsman", fair enough, but you sure picked a really bad example. Now Zaheer's comment - that's one that's purely intended to provoke, nothing else. Let's see how Ponting's bat reacts.

Michael,
It seems that you (& some Australians) still haven't understood what drew such a sharp reaction. The difference is really the way your blog is perceived by two different audiences; for the Aussie crowd it probably gets the patriotic juices flowing, while to almost anyone else it would seem biased and self aggrandizing.
Two things:
1) You've looked at a subset of the actual incident, you've portrayed Sehwag as the instigator by trash talking Ponting, who gallantly responded on the cricket field. The truth is Ponting brought up his disappointment on the rejection of a catches pact, which would naturally invite scorn after the last series. Sehwag merely aired his views on this pseudo spirit of cricket. Ponting didn't shut up and let his bat do the talking, he then brought up Perth, so he really was the guy who opened a can of worms. If he did this to increase his motivation to score, then that didn't come through in your blog, since you seem to imply Sehwag started this (cont)

(cont) possibly to upset his frame of mind. All of this is still debatable as is the extent to which Sehwag's comments motivated Ponting compared to the bad blood from the last series as well as his own personal record in India.
2) You then go on to link this with the Australian cricket psyche, noting how this tactic is used everywhere from junior club cricket to icons like Border and Jones. You imply these tactics motivate Australians while the rest of the world is susceptible to them, and in effect Australians and only other true greats draw inspiration from them. Every single sportsmen I have had the honor of playing against draws inspiration from some source, but almost always will try harder against someone who has a crack at him. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he doesn't. But it goes on all over the world and doesn't make Aussie any tougher than anyone else. If your patriotic PoV gets in the way, you make ludicrous assertions that link universal strong traits as distinctly Aussie.

Greetings "Brendanvio": I'd say if you go to your favourite restaurant where you've been a couple score times and get served crap food one day, would you not go and complain to the manager about it? Well, I would.

This was a stupid post and I am sure not many of the readers would contest that. I would like to complain so it serves as a deterrent for people who write things for money to try and put a little more effort and research into their writing.

Some Indian Fans are becoming increasingly irrational and are led on by the likes of commentators such as Gavaskar who by the way was forced to step down from the ICC after his rediculous comments last year. Indians go up in arms regarding poor decisions but they always even out. People seem to forget the poor decisions Hayden copped in the first test yet as soon as an Australian is given the benefit of the doubt they go up in arms. Australia got the rub of the green in Sydney this year and it was evened out by the decisions agaist OZ in Perth.

As for Gambhir he got what he deserved. Had he just sledged he would have got the same fine as Watson but he crossed the line and got his just desserts. Its just sad that India threaten to boycott matches or play suspended players when decisions go agaisnt them.

Can you imagine if an Australian made monkey taunts at an Indian. Cricket Australia would hang him out to dry and he would't be playing. Yet Singh is treated like a hero.Disgusting

Hi..

I hope the indian team, gave a very nice reply to the punter.